Armenian parliament to discuss Karabakh independence

Monday, December 6, 2010

VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Armenia’s parliament will discuss Thursday the possibility of recognizing breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh’s dependence, yet many admit that international considerations effectively preclude Yerevan from making any such acknowledgement.

"Armenia cannot make this decision at the moment, no matter how much they want it, because they attach the utmost importance to mediators’ diplomatic efforts for a solution to the [Nagorno-Karabakh problem],” Manvel Sargsyan, a Karabakh political figure, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

The issue has been brought to the agenda by the country’s strongest opposition party, Jarankutyun. Although the party raised the same issue in 2007, it failed, said Sargsyan.

According to political scientists, although the Serge Sarkisian government, like other previous administrations, wants to recognize Karabakh’s independence, the issue’s delicate nature makes it difficult to make such a move. In order not to disrupt the work of the international mediators who are trying to solve the issue in peaceful terms, the government has refused to recognize the territory.

Still, the desire is shared by all Armenians, Güner Özkan, deputy chairman of the International Strategic Research Foundation’s Eurasia desk, told the Daily News.

"Former President Robert Kocharyan was from Karabakh; so is the present president, Sarkisian. Despite that, they are timid in recognizing independence,” he said.

"Armenia needs Russia’s consent to be able to recognize Karabakh’s independence. It is not possible otherwise. Of course we should not forget the role of the European Union and United States in the process,” Özkan said.

There are two different opinions about the Nagorno-Karabakh problem in Armenia, said Hayk Khanumyan, a political scientist and chairman of the European Movement NGO in Karabakh.

On one hand, one side thinks that if Armenia recognized Karabakh’s independence, it would be detrimental to the solution of issues in a peaceful manner, while more radical sections support an Armenian-Karabakh union, said Khanumyan. “My opinion is both Armenia and the other countries should recognize the independence.”

Although Armenia has yet to recognize the region’s independence, Nagorno-Karabakh is of vital importance, Sargsyan said, adding that the consensus in Armenia between the government and the opposition was that the region could on no accounts remain a part of Azerbaijan.

‘Party funded by the US’

Ultimately, Jarankutyun is after its own political ends, Özkan said.

"Jarankutyun is a party funded by the U.S., everybody knows that,” said Khanumyan. “The Armenian Center for National and International Studies, owned by the party, has long received financial support from the country. If we bear that in mind, we could as well say that Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence is approved by the U.S.”

‘Football diplomacy’

Touching on the “football diplomacy” that started in 2008 between Turkey and Armenia, Sargsyan said, “Football diplomacy not only ended without any results, it also deepened the deadlock between Azerbaijan and Armenia and of course negatively affected the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, too.”

The apparent detente started when Turkish President Abdullah Gül made a historic visit to Armenia in 2008 to watch a World Cup qualifier football match between the two countries’ national football teams. Sarkisian visited Turkey to watch the return match in 2009.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols for the development of relations and opening their sealed mutual border in 2009 but have been unable to complete the ratification process.